﻿WHAT IS KRISHNA JANMASHTAMI, AND HOW IS IT CELEBRATED IN INDIA?

Krishna
Janmashtami is the birthday celebration of Krishna, who is the eighth
incarnation of the god Vishnu. This is one of the most important Hindu
festivals for Hindus. According to the Hindu calendar, this occasion is
celebrated on the Ashtami of Krishna Paksha or the 8th day of the dark
fortnight in the month of Bhadon which is usually in August or September.

People
believe that Krishna is one of the most powerful human incarnations of the Lord
Vishnu. He was born around 5,200 years ago in a prison of Mathura in the
custody of Kansa. Vasudev, his father decided to hand over his child to Nand to
save Krishna from the clutch of Kansa. Kanha grew up in Gokul as the son of Nand
and finally killed Kansa.

The main
objective of Sri Krishna’s birth was to make the world free from the evilness
of demons. He played a very important role in Mahabharata and taught the actual
meaning of bhakti and good karma; all his lessons are narrated deeply in the
Bhagwat Geeta.

CELEBRATION ACROSS THE COUNTRY

To celebrate
this day, people go to temple and worship Lord Krishna. Besides, people
celebrate this day in different ways across the country like organizing Dahi
handi competitions, Raas Leela performance and many more. Here there are some
examples:

Mathura and Vrindavan

Janmashtami
is celebrated at a grand level with an unmatched zeal in Mathura and
Vrindavan, as these places are very close to Lord Krishna, he was born in
Mathura and grew up in Vrindavan. Here, Krishna leelas and Raas leelas are
organized. People from different part of the world come here to experience this
festival.

Gujarat

Krishna established
his kingdom in Dwarka so, it one of the most important festivals for the state.
Here, people decorate their house, temples, sing devotional songs and prepare
sweetmeats to offer to God.

Maharashtra

In
Maharashtra, the festival is celebrated mainly by organizing Dahi Handi
competitions. Groups of people form a human pyramid to break an earthen pot
filled with curd.

TamilNadu

In Tamil
Nadu, people observe fast for the whole day, decorate the floor with beautiful
patterns made of rice batter.

AndhraPradesh

In Andhra
Pradesh, young people dress up as Krishna, and devotees sing devotional songs
and chant mantras. Besides, people make sweet dishes like seedai, sweet seedai
to mark the celebration.